Need electrical / ignition help

Z

ZOLTAR

Member
Still trying to get spark out of my 59 a b. I have a rebuilt distributor what seems to be a good coil. Just have it hot wired to the battery into the start of now. When I crank the motor I get no power to the coil when the motor isn't turning over I have power.. any suggestions? Thanks Rich 6 volt battery positive ground 1 wire to the coil ,,condenser?
 
Sounds like low voltage!maybe starter drawing to much current,,,does it spin very fast??
 
Little bit hard to follow how you have this set up. Should be a wire to whatever you are using as a starter solenoid. The power wire from the battery would connect to a terminal on the solenoid, this same terminal would also connect to a switch (starter switch). The other terminal of the switch connects to the (-) terminal of the coil and the (+) terminal of the coil connects to the point/condenser. (No resistor is needed with 6v and a 1.5 ohm coil).
 

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it is a helmet distributor with coil on top of thatIt is a helmet distributor with coil on top of that I only have one wire hooked up to the coil am I doing something wrong. Thanks
 
On the stock type coil on distributor there is only one wire to the distributor, the other connections are built into the distributor/coil. You only need the two wires with a separately mounted "can" type of coil. You do need the resistor in your case.
 
Okay I'll take a moment and explain better thanks for your help. Have a 6 volt battery negative side going directly to starter. Coil connected to the same negative side of battery with an inline resistor. I take the positive side of the battery and ground it to the block that makes the engine spin takes away power from the coil. Not getting any spark to the wires. Engine is turning over fairly fast but not what I would consider full speed. Thanks for your help and patience
 
Should work if you have enough battery power. If you have a volt meter connect it to the wire going to the coil and see what voltage you have when cranking the engine. You need 3.5 to 4 volts to get a good enough spark to fire the plugs. Just touching the positive to the engine for a ground may not be giving you a good enough connection for what you need. I would invest in a starter solenoid and a switch and use a good ground from the battery to the engine.
 
ZOLTAR said:
Well somehow I managed to melt my coil maybe it's time for electronic ignition
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I don't think that's a good idea. I think it would be best if you fully understand how the stock ignition works, with all of it's quirks and foibles. Get a basic understanding of how everything works.

Plus, it's a lot more expensive if you damage the electronic stuff.
 
Big jump based on wiring it up the way you did. :) The stock system is a strong reliable system. Electronic systems do work, but not well on 6v and much more sensitive to power issues.
 
With your setup when you take the positive off the block you remove the ground return for the ignition, too, so you wont have any voltage to the coil.
 
Get another battery, set it on the ground by the front of the car .
Disconnect the wire from the coil.
Run two jumper wires from the second battery to the car, one ground and one to the coil. Now see if you get spark when cranking it over.
 
I had that same problem a week ago on a car that just had the engine rebuilt.
Turned out the rusty nut on the coil was not tight.
 
If you run your original ford coil on top of the distributor then you must use the original ford type resistor in the coil power feed wire. No resistor and you will cook the coil. These coils run on 4 volts , not 6 volts. Also if the ignition is turned on for a longer period without the engine running then its possible to cook the coil. Forget electronic ignition. That's the usual remark when owners of old Fords cant work out or fix the original system. The original Ford V8 ignition is an excellent system. Learn how it works. Regards, Kevin.
 
ZOLTAR said:
Okay I'll take a moment and explain better thanks for your help. Have a 6 volt battery negative side going directly to starter. Coil connected to the same negative side of battery with an inline resistor.
Click to expand...

So, does this mean you don't have a starter relay (a solenoid to some of us) in the circuit? Does your setup match the diagram in post #3 from JSeery?
 
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